Avila, a proud year postal employee started his postal career in Antioch in as a letter carrier. As outlined in the USPS Delivering for America plan, the postal service is committed to modernizing and continually adapting to the evolving needs of all customers. As the Postmaster of Antioch, Avila is prepared to meet those needs for his community. Originally, the word Postmaster was referred as the one who provided post horses.
However, the real beginnings of a postal system in the colonies dates from when Thomas Neale received a year grant from the British Crown authorizing him to set up post roads in North America. In , the British Government bought the rights to the North American postal service, and, in , consolidated the postal service into one establishment. In , Benjamin Franklin was appointed Postmaster at Philadelphia. He laid out new post roads, helped expand mail service from Canada to New York and instituted overnight delivery between Philadelphia and New York City, a distance of 90 miles.
In , Franklin was dismissed from office because of his efforts on behalf of the patriots. When the Continental Congress met in May , they named Franklin as postmaster general for the 13 American colonies. From until the early s, Postmasters were appointed by the postmaster general. In , postmasters were appointed by the president, but this of course changed whenever a new party was elected.
It was not until August , with the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act, which took effect in July , that the patronage system was finally removed from the postal service once and for all. Postmasters began being appointed on merit alone. The act also permitted upward mobility for line employees, allowing them to be promoted to the position of Postmaster.
Other notable individuals who served as postmaster included abolitionist John Brown, businessman Conrad Hilton, novelist William Faulkner, and humorist Bill Nye. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
